Boston butt is called that because colonial New England butchers packed inexpensive pork shoulder cuts into barrels called “butts” for storage and shipping; the style became associated with Boston.
If cooking it as a pork roast, USDA lists 145°F plus 3 minutes rest.
Why Is It Called Boston Butt has 2 reasons: “Boston” points to the city’s pork-packing trade, and “butt” refers to the barrel-like containers once used to ship or store pork, not the animal’s rear end.
Boston butt is actually cut from the upper shoulder of the hog. In colonial New England, butchers packed cheaper shoulder cuts into casks often called butts.
The Boston style of cutting and packing pork became associated with that shoulder piece, so the name stuck: Boston butt.
The Short Answer, With Numbers
Boston butt is not from the rear of the pig. It is the upper pork shoulder, above the picnic shoulder. “Butt” refers to the old wooden barrel, or butt, used to pack and ship this cut.
The “Boston” part points to a New England cutting and packing style associated with Boston pork merchants. So the name means “Boston-style shoulder packed in butts,” not “pork from a pig’s butt.”
Key Figures for Cooking It Safely
| Food | Safe minimum internal temperature | Rest time |
|---|---|---|
| Beef, pork, veal and lamb – steaks, chops, roasts | 145°F (63°C) | 3 minutes |
| Leftovers, reheated | 165°F (74°C) | None |
For a Boston butt served as a pork roast, the USDA figure is 145°F, followed by a 3-minute rest. That is the safety number, not the tenderness number for pulled pork.
Here is the practical split: 145°F makes it safely cooked as a roast, but it will slice more like firm pork. Pulled pork usually cooks much longer because shoulder has connective tissue and fat.
Example 1: you roast a 4 lb Boston butt and want sliced pork. Check the thickest center with a food thermometer. When it reads 145°F, remove it and rest it for 3 minutes before carving.
Example 2: you smoke a 7 lb Boston butt for pulled pork. The safety rule still starts at 145°F plus 3 minutes, but the texture goal is separate from the USDA minimum.
The name also explains why “butt” and “shoulder” labels overlap. A whole pork shoulder is commonly divided into 2 main parts: the upper Boston butt and the lower picnic shoulder.
If a package says “pork butt,” “Boston butt,” or “blade shoulder,” expect the upper shoulder. If it says “picnic,” expect the lower shoulder, often with a different shape and more skin.
Edge case: if you cube Boston butt for stew, the relevant source row is still pork roasts/chops/steaks only when treated as intact pork pieces. Do not use a poultry or casserole number unless that food actually applies.
Edge case: if cooked Boston butt becomes leftovers, the next target changes. Reheated leftovers should reach 165°F, with no rest time required in the provided USDA figure.
Worked leftover example: yesterday’s pulled pork goes into a skillet. Heat and stir so cold spots disappear, then verify 165°F in the thickest or densest portion before serving.
Worked naming example: a butcher can sell an 8 lb pork shoulder as 5 lb Boston butt plus 3 lb picnic shoulder. The “butt” is the upper 5 lb shoulder piece, not the ham end.
The fast answer: Boston butt is called that because Boston-area packers used the term for the upper shoulder cut packed in barrels called butts. For safety, cook pork roast to 145°F and rest 3 minutes.
The Short Answer
Boston butt is called “butt” because it came from a barrel, not from the rear of the pig. The cut is the upper shoulder. In colonial New England, pork shoulders were packed into wooden casks called butts.
“Boston” points to the city’s old pork-packing trade. The style of cutting, salting, and packing pork shoulder was strongly associated with Boston, so the name “Boston butt” stuck.
Where the Cut Actually Comes From
A Boston butt is from the pig’s front shoulder, above the picnic shoulder. It is not the rump, ham, or back end. The rear leg is where ham comes from.
Think of the pork shoulder as 2 main retail pieces: the upper shoulder is Boston butt, and the lower shoulder is picnic shoulder. Both are front-of-the-animal cuts.
The Boston butt usually contains rich marbling, connective tissue, and sometimes part of the shoulder blade. That structure is why it is common for pulled pork.
Why “Butt” Meant Barrel
In older English usage, a “butt” was a large cask. Pork was often cured, salted, and shipped in barrels before modern refrigeration and boxed meat distribution.
The name likely developed because this shoulder cut was packed into those butts for transport. The word described the container and trade practice, not anatomy.
A worked example: a packer cuts 100 shoulders into upper and lower sections. The upper sections are salted and packed in casks for shipment from Boston. Buyers call that style “Boston butt.”
Boston Butt vs. Pork Butt vs. Pork Shoulder
“Boston butt” and “pork butt” usually mean the same cut: the upper shoulder. “Pork shoulder” can mean the whole shoulder or, in some stores, the lower picnic portion.
Edge case: a label reading “pork shoulder butt roast” is generally Boston butt. A label reading “picnic shoulder” or “picnic roast” is the lower front leg section.
Another edge case: boneless Boston butt is still Boston butt. Removing the blade bone changes prep and yield, but not the location of the cut.
Bone-in and boneless roasts are both named for the same shoulder area. A 7 lb bone-in butt may yield less edible meat than a 7 lb boneless butt because the bone is included.
Cooking Name vs. Safety Name
The name explains history, not doneness. For pork steaks, chops, and roasts, the USDA safe minimum internal temperature is 145°F (63°C) with a 3-minute rest.
Ground pork is different. If Boston butt is ground for sausage or patties, the USDA safe minimum internal temperature is 160°F (71°C), with no rest time listed.
So the short version is precise: Boston butt is an upper front-shoulder pork cut, named after Boston-style packing in barrel “butts,” not after the pig’s backside.
What Butt Means Here
Butt in Boston butt does not mean the rear of the pig. It means a barrel, cask, or large storage container once used for packing and shipping pork.
The cut itself comes from the upper shoulder, above the picnic shoulder and below the neck. On a pork shoulder primal, Boston butt is the higher, thicker section, not the ham end.
A typical Boston butt in U.S. stores weighs about 4 to 10 pounds. A 7-pound butt is usually a shoulder roast with bone, fat cap, and several muscles held together by connective tissue.
The “Butt” Was the Container
In older English trade usage, a butt was a cask. Pork packed into these casks could be called by the container name, much like “barrel pickles” names the package, not the cucumber part.
The name likely stuck because New England pork processors commonly packed shoulder cuts into barrels for storage and shipment. Boston became attached as a regional market label.
So the phrase works like this: Boston points to the market style, and butt points to the packing cask. Neither word identifies the pig’s rear.
A simple check: the true rear leg is sold as ham. If “butt” meant rear, Boston butt would overlap with ham. It does not; Boston butt is shoulder, while ham is the hind leg.
Where It Sits on the Pig
Think of the shoulder as 2 retail zones. The upper zone is Boston butt. The lower zone is picnic shoulder. Both are front-end cuts, but they look and cook differently.
| Cut | Location | Typical Traits |
|---|---|---|
| Boston butt | Upper front shoulder | Thick, marbled, often rectangular |
| Picnic shoulder | Lower front shoulder | More tapered, often with skin |
| Ham | Rear leg | Hindquarter cut, not shoulder |
Worked example: if a butcher breaks a 16-pound whole pork shoulder into 2 parts, the upper 8-pound section may be labeled Boston butt and the lower 8-pound section picnic shoulder.
Edge case: some packages say pork butt, Boston butt, or shoulder butt. In ordinary U.S. meat labeling, these point to the same upper-shoulder family.
Another edge case: butt portion ham is different. That label refers to the upper portion of the hind leg ham, not Boston butt. The word butt is reused in a different cutting context.
For cooking safety, Boston butt is pork roast. If cooked as a roast, the USDA safe minimum internal temperature is 145°F with a 3-minute rest.
If the pork is ground, the rule changes. Ground pork must reach 160°F, with no rest time listed in the reference data.
That distinction matters for examples. A 6-pound intact Boston butt roast falls under pork roasts: 145°F plus 3 minutes. Five pounds of ground pork shoulder for sausage falls under ground pork: 160°F.
The short answer: Boston butt is called “butt” because the shoulder cut was associated with a butt, meaning a cask. Anatomically, it is from the front shoulder, not the pig’s backside.
Why Boston Is Mentioned
“Boston” points to the place where this pork-cut name became common, not to where the cut sits on the hog. Boston butt is from the upper shoulder, above the picnic shoulder, not from the rear end.
The name is usually traced to 18th- and 19th-century New England pork packing. Boston was a major market and shipping point, and shoulder pieces were packed for trade in large barrels called “butts.”
The 2 words mean 2 different things
| Word | What it refers to | What it does not mean |
|---|---|---|
| Boston | A regional packing and trade name associated with Boston | Not a Boston-only pig breed or recipe |
| Butt | A barrel or cask used in packing and shipping | Not the animal’s hindquarter |
A practical way to read the label is: “Boston-style shoulder cut formerly packed in butts.” The “butt” part survived even after shoppers stopped seeing the barrel.
The anatomical confusion comes from modern English. On a pig, the rear leg becomes ham. Boston butt comes from the front quarter, specifically the upper shoulder near the blade bone.
How it differs from picnic shoulder
A whole pork shoulder is commonly split into 2 retail cuts: the upper Boston butt and the lower picnic shoulder. Both are shoulder meat, but they are not identical in shape, fat, bone, or skin.
| Cut | Position | Common retail traits |
|---|---|---|
| Boston butt | Upper shoulder | More marbling, often rectangular, good for pulled pork |
| Picnic shoulder | Lower shoulder | Often has more skin, tapers toward the shank |
Example: if a store sells a 7 lb “pork shoulder butt roast,” it is normally the upper shoulder. If the label says “picnic,” “arm picnic,” or shows a shank-like taper, it is the lower section.
Edge case: some labels say only “pork shoulder.” That may mean the whole shoulder, a butt, or a picnic, depending on the processor. The label is less precise than “Boston butt” or “picnic shoulder.”
Why the name stayed on meat-counter labels
Meat cutters keep old trade names because they are short and specific. “Boston butt” tells a butcher more than “pork roast,” because it identifies the upper shoulder and its usual fat structure.
That matters in cooking. A loin roast is lean; a Boston butt is fatty and collagen-rich. The names prevent a shopper from swapping a lean roast into a recipe built for shreddable shoulder meat.
For safety, USDA lists pork steaks, chops, and roasts at 145°F with a 3-minute rest. Many cooks take Boston butt beyond that for texture, but the name itself comes from packing history, not doneness.
So the direct answer is: Boston is mentioned because the cut name came from New England pork packing and trade, centered on Boston, where shoulder cuts were shipped in barrels called butts.
How The Name Developed
Boston butt is called that because the cut was associated with Boston’s pork trade and with “butts,” the wooden casks used to pack and ship pork. The name does not mean the meat comes from the rear of the pig.
The cut comes from the upper shoulder, above the picnic shoulder and below the neck. On a hog, it is forward of the ribs, not near the ham. A typical retail Boston butt often weighs about 4 to 10 pounds.
Why “Butt” Meant A Container First
In older English usage, a “butt” was a large barrel or cask. Merchants used the word for storage vessels long before shoppers used it for a pork cut. That is the key to the confusing name.
In the colonial and early U.S. pork trade, less tender shoulder pieces were salted, packed, and shipped in casks. A shoulder packed in a butt could become known by the container term.
Think of the naming pattern like “barrel pickles.” The barrel is not the plant; it is the package. “Boston butt” works the same way: the “butt” points to the shipping cask, not the pig’s anatomy.
Why “Boston” Got Attached
Boston was a major port city, and New England had an active trade in salted pork. Pork could move by ship to markets that needed durable, preserved meat rather than fresh cuts.
The exact first printed use is hard to pin to one date, but the name reflects a commercial habit: shoulder pork packed and sold through Boston-area trade channels became associated with that place.
A practical example: if a butcher broke down a 200-pound hog, the two upper shoulders might be separated from the picnic portions, cured or salted, and packed for transport. The label followed the trade route.
Over time, “Boston butt” became a butcher’s cut name. Once the term entered meat-cutting language, it stayed even after fresh, uncured pork became common in grocery cases.
What The Name Means At The Meat Case
Today, Boston butt usually means the upper part of the pork shoulder. It is well marbled, full of connective tissue, and suited to pulled pork, braising, roasting, and barbecue.
Do not confuse it with pork picnic shoulder. Picnic shoulder is the lower shoulder, closer to the foreleg. Boston butt is higher, squarer, and often sold bone-in or boneless.
Edge case: a package labeled “pork shoulder roast” may be Boston butt, picnic shoulder, or a larger shoulder section. Check shape and bone. A blade bone usually points to Boston butt.
Another edge case: “pork butt” and “Boston butt” are often used interchangeably in U.S. stores. If the label says “shoulder blade roast,” it is usually the same neighborhood of the hog.
The short answer is numeric and anatomical: it is a front-shoulder cut, commonly 4 to 10 pounds, named from Boston pork commerce and from butts, the casks used to pack and ship meat.
How To Identify The Cut
Boston butt is the upper shoulder of the hog, not the rear. In stores, it is usually sold as pork butt, pork shoulder butt, blade roast, Boston shoulder, or shoulder blade roast.
Use These 6 Checks At The Meat Case
- 1. Check the label first: Look for “pork butt,” “Boston butt,” “shoulder butt,” “blade roast,” or “shoulder blade roast.” If the label says “picnic shoulder,” it is the lower shoulder, not Boston butt.
- 2. Look for the shape: Boston butt is usually a thick, blocky rectangle or squat oval. A common retail roast weighs 3 to 8 pounds. Picnic shoulder is more tapered and often looks like a cone or shank piece.
- 3. Find the fat cap: A Boston butt often has one broad fat cap on one side, usually about 1/8 to 1/2 inch thick. The other sides show red-pink meat with visible white fat seams.
- 4. Look for marbling: The cut should have heavy internal fat streaks. If a 4-pound roast looks very lean, smooth, and uniform, it may be loin or a trimmed shoulder piece, not ideal Boston butt.
- 5. Check for the blade bone: Bone-in Boston butt often contains a flat, paddle-shaped blade bone. On a cut face, it may look like an oval, flat triangle, or thin white plate inside the meat.
- 6. Compare price and packaging: Boston butt is often sold as a large roast, boneless netted roast, or bone-in cryovac pack. If you see small, thin “shoulder steaks,” they may be sliced from the same area.
Worked example: a 6.5-pound roast labeled “pork shoulder blade Boston roast,” with a 1/4-inch fat cap, a blocky shape, and one flat bone is Boston butt.
Another example: a 7-pound piece labeled “pork picnic shoulder,” with skin attached and a shank-like end, is not Boston butt. It comes from the lower shoulder.
Boneless Boston butt can be harder to spot. It may be tied with string or packed in elastic netting because the bone was removed. Expect irregular seams, loose flaps, and heavy marbling.
Do not identify Boston butt by the word “butt” alone. In older meat-packing usage, “butt” meant the thicker end of a cut. The name refers to the upper shoulder packed in barrels, not the pig’s back end.
Edge case: “pork shoulder roast” can mean either Boston butt or picnic shoulder. If the package does not say butt, blade, or Boston, use shape, fat, bone, and skin to decide.
If skin is still attached, it is more likely picnic shoulder. Boston butt is commonly sold skinless in U.S. supermarkets, though small patches of surface fat are normal.
For pulled pork, choose a Boston butt with visible white seams throughout. A 5-pound roast losing about 35% during cooking yields roughly 3.25 pounds cooked meat, enough for about 10 servings at 5 ounces each.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called Boston butt?
Boston butt is called that because, in colonial New England, pork shoulder cuts were often packed for storage or shipping in wooden barrels called butts.
Boston became associated with this shoulder-cutting and packing style, so the upper pork shoulder became known as Boston butt.
Is Boston butt actually from the pig’s butt?
No. Boston butt comes from the upper part of the pig’s front shoulder, not the rear end. The actual hind section is where ham comes from. The name is historical, tied to barrel packing, not the animal’s anatomy.
What part of the shoulder is Boston butt?
Boston butt is the upper shoulder portion above the picnic shoulder. It usually includes well-marbled meat and may contain part of the shoulder blade. A typical retail roast often weighs about 4 to 8 pounds, depending on how it is cut.
Is Boston butt the same as pork shoulder?
Boston butt is part of the pork shoulder, but it is not the whole shoulder. The full shoulder is commonly divided into 2 main cuts: Boston butt on top and picnic shoulder below. Recipes may use the terms loosely, especially for pulled pork.
Why is Boston butt used for pulled pork?
Boston butt has plenty of intramuscular fat and connective tissue, which helps it become tender and shreddable during long cooking. For food safety, pork roasts should reach 145°F and rest for 3 minutes, though pulled pork is often cooked longer for texture.
